Networking in Las Vegas for the Week Ending June 7, 2014 (Economic Forum, Greg St Martin, UNLV IP Committee, UNLV Med School Dean, LV Heals Mixer, Med Marijuana Hearings, Gov's Hire-a-Vet)

Attended part of the State of Nevada Economic Forum which was created by Nevada State Senate bill 23 in 1993 to review the forecasts for the state of Nevada's budget. These hearings last all day and are an up-to-date review of state's tax revenue and expenses. Each even-numbered (2014) year the forum is required to provide their forecasts of the state revenues by December 3rd. The December forecast is used by the Governor in preparing the budget recommendation for the legislative session. The Economic Forum is run by 5 appointees of which none can work for state government. See the list here. The highlights of the meeting were that Medicaid has expanded under the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) and the state is required to pay for a portion of the newly eligibles - single men. In addition the normal Medicaid roles have expanded. Mike Wilden, NV Director of Health & Human Services, the second largest budget area for the state, after education, would only guess at amout of the increased expense but did say he expected the state portion of expenses to increase several hundred million. (This will further squeeze the budget for other programs such as funding doctor residency programs, GME, and a UNLV Medical School.) The other forecast that should affect the state is the mining tax which is expected to decrease by $70 million (it was projected to be $90 million). See the state budget here (it's several thousand pages). Only a handful a people attended the meeting.

Met with Greg St Martin for lunch. Greg was the founder of the Green Chamber of Commerce. He is now working as commercial realtor for Sun Commercial Real Estate Services. Greg wanted to thank me for serving as a reference. (He bought lunch which is a nice way to say thanks). Cathy Jones is the founder and president of Sun Commercial. She has been active in United Way. Cathy and I worked at Deloitte many years ago. She is very sharp.

Attended the UNLV Intellectual Property committee which reviews research at UNLV that could be patented and promoted for licensing or creating spin-off companies. As an outside member I bring a private industry experience to the committee. Zach Miles, Esq. runs the committee. He's also the university's director of Technology Transfer. Zach is looking at making the entire process more efficient and effect which the creation of a committee of outside investors to help evaluate the technology. Zach has previously worked at the University of Utah which had a very successful technology transfer program. The committee meeting was attended by the UNLV VP of Research, Tom Piechota; Dean of Sciences, Tim Porter; Dean of Engineering, Rama Venkat; Director of Entrepreneurship, Andrew Hardin; Robert Nielson, UNLV Economic Development; Jim Thompson, Special Advisor to the UNLV President and Dr. Robert Schill.

Met with Barbara Atkinson, MD, Planning Dean of the UNLV School of Medicine. Barbara was interested in understanding the State of Nevada, its people and the politics. Carl Reiber, UNLV Associate Provost, also joined us in the meeting for a discussion on Graduate Medical Education commonly called residency programs for doctors. We also talked about the beneficial effect that medical school would have on Las Vegas and the state including, increasing the number of doctors, medical research, trials, medical tourism and increasing the quality of healthcare. Barbara had built the University of Kansas Medical School into a powerhouse. She appears to be the right person and the right time to make that happen in Las Vegas. We are fortunate to have such a leader. She also mentioned that the current UNLV President, Don Snyder, was critical in her decision to take the position. 

Attended the Las Vegas HEALS Medical Mixer at the Capital Grill. The location was spectacular with a view of the strip and the Wynn Hotel. The drinks and appetizers were first class, especially the roast-beef carving station. Over hundred people attended the mixer. It's one of the best mixers, judging from the quality of people and the ability to talk with the attendees.

Attended the hearings on the Medical Marijuana licenses at the County for three days, over 80 applicants made presentations. All of the applicants were required to strong finances, experts to help the process, a viable business plan and a concern for the community. One third of the consultants came from Colorado, another third from California and the other third was from Arizona. A number of prominent individuals and attorneys were at the hearings: Brian Greenspun, John Ritter, Larry Scheffler, Frank Spady, Otto Merida, Randy Black, Steve Byrne, Robert Ellis, Rory Reid, Jay Brown, Joe Brown and many others. After all 80 applicants had been heard, the commission went through the process of selecting the winners. The process took several hours and was done in front of a packed audience of applicants. The final 18 had dispensaries that were geographically dispersed throughout the valley and represented some familiar names in Las Vegas: John Ritter, Troy Herbst, Adam Corrigan, Jane Tobman, Camille Ruvo, Rich Abajian, Chad Christensen, David Goldwater, Mark James, Jonathan Fine, Otto Merida, Richard Perkins, Hank Gordon, Brian Padgett and others. Some that did not make the cut include Brian Greenspun, Sig Rogich, Gary Primm, Renaldo Tiberti, Ed Bernstein, Irwin Molasky's stepchildren (Michael, Gary & Robert Frey) and others

Attended the Governor's Hire-a-Veteran forum at City Hall. The governor wants to make Nevada the most military and veteran friendly state in the country. Caleb Cage, Director of Military & Veterans Policy for the State of Nevada, talked about the Green Zone Employer Program which is a drive to make it easier for companies to hire veterans and for veterans to find those companies. About 100 attended the meeting including attorney Joe Brown, Military Support Alliance; Gian Brosco, Nevada Community Foundation; and Terrence Thornton, Las Vegas Global Economic Alliance.

John Laub